Plinics Naturall Hiflorie. 



Chap. xmi. 

 ^ of the treis in JEthhpta, 



AS toiichingiEthiopiaj and namely that quarter which confineth upon i^gypt, ithathiri 

 manner no trees at all of any name, fave thofe that beare wooll or cotton : concernino the 

 ^nature of which trees, we have fufFiciently fpokcn in the delcription of the Indians^ and of 

 Arabia : and yet in very truth^the cotton thatis broughtfrom thefe trees ini5;ihiopia,commeth 

 nearer to wooll than any thing els , howfbever the trees be othcrwife like to the reft of that kind : 

 and the burfe or cod wherein this woolliefubftancelyetb^is gTeater,and a^ big as a Pomcgr^nat, 

 Bcfides thefe, there be Date trees aIfo,like to fuch as we have before defcribed . As touching o- 

 ther trees, and efpecially the odoriferous woods within the Ifles that lie upon Ethiopia round 

 about, we h ave faid enough in the treatife of thofe Hands, 



Chap, xv, 



^ Of the Trees growing in munt Atlas : of Citron tables : of the conimendahU 

 ferjeSitons^md contrarimfe of the defaults thereof, 



THe mountaine Atlas (by report) hath a wood in it of peculiar trees that elfewherc grow 

 not,wherof we have alreadie written. The Mores that border upon it,are ftored with abun- 

 . dance of Citron trees : from whence commcth that excelTive expenfe and (upeifluitic a- 

 bout Citron tables made thereof. And our dames ancjwivesat home (byway of revcnge)u(e 

 to twit us their husbands therewith, when we would fccme to find fault with the coftly pearls that 

 they doe weare. There is at this day to be feene a board of Citron wood, belonging (ometimes 

 to CM-Mlm Of^/-(?3whichcofthim tenthoufand Sefterces: aftraungematter,confidering he 

 was no rich man : but more wonderful!, if wee call to mind the feveritie of that age wherein hee 

 lived. Much fpecch there is befides of G/2///i^;^/«//^^ his table, fold for eleven thoufand Sefter- 

 ces. Moreover,there are two other, which K.//^^4 fold: the one was prifcd at 15000 Sefterces, 

 and the other held little under. Not long fince^therc was one of them chaunced to be burnt, and 

 it came with other houfhold ftuffc but from the cottages in Mauritania, which coft 140000 Se- 

 fterces; a good round fummc of money, and the price of afaireloidfhip, if a man would be at 

 the coft topurchafe lands fo deare.But the faircft and largeft table of Citron wood, that to this 

 day hath beene feene, came from Ptolom^e king of Mauritania, the which was made of two 

 demie-rounds or halfe circle Sjjoyned togitherfo artificially, that for the clofenefTe of the joynt 

 (which could not be difcerned) it was more admirable than poftibly it could have beene if it had 

 beene naturallyof one entire peece : the diameter of it caned foure foot and a halfe, and three 

 inches thicke it was.Likewife another fuch table there wasjfurnamed Nomien, of one Nomius 

 a fl3ve,enfranchifed by TJ/^^r/Vi^i theEmperour : thefquare or diamerre whereof, was foure foot 

 within three quarters of an inch 5 and the thicknCshalie a foot lacking fo much. And here I can- 

 not forget and ovcrpafle,how that the "Em^txomTfberm himfelfe had a tab!e,which being two 

 inchest three quarters above four foot in the diametre,&: an inch and an hahe thick through- 

 out, he caufed to be plated all over, for that 2\co/w/«/^^ his freed lervanthadone forich andmag- 

 nificent,madealtogitherof aknot:aknot (I fay) or a knur in the root of the tree , which is the 

 very beaatie of the woodj and giveth all the grace to the tablesmade therof 5 and namely, if this 

 knot lie altogither within ground, it is without comparilbn excellent, and farre more rare and 

 fmgular than any of die timber above, either in the trunke and bodie, or in the armes and 

 boughes of the tree.So that (to fay a truth) this coftly ware bought fo deare, is no better than 

 the fuperfluous excrefcenfe oftrees: thelargenefl^e whereof, as alfo of their roots^may be eftee- 

 med by theroundnes that they Carrie. Now are thefe Citron trees much like to the femaleCy- 

 pfelfe(elpecially that of the wild kind) in leafe,infinell, and in bodie. A mountaine there is in 

 highMauritania,caIled Anchorarius,whichwaswonttoyeeldihebeftand faireft Citron trees, 

 although now it be naked and dcfpoiled of them. But to return to our tables aforcfaid-, the prin- 

 cipall be they which are either crilped in the length of the veinejOr befethere and there with win- 

 dingfpots. In the former.the wood curleth in and out along thegraine,and therefore fuch be 

 named Tigrin*^, p.Tigre-tabks.l In the other, there be rcprefentedfundric tufts as it were en- 

 folded 



